The angel driving the car who's headlights shone a light of hope on Duke, stopped and discovered a large, brindle Great Dane mix, emaciated and in obvious pain. As she tried to lift the dog into her car, other people stopped to help, telling her that they had seen the dog in the ditch for days but assumed that he was dead.

Duke was transported to the Lone Star Animal Clinic in nearby Cedar Park. I happened to be there and I will never forget the moment I saw Duke in the back of the Good Samaritans vehicle. His left front leg broken and bent at a grotesque angle. Swollen and openly fractured, the bone visibly protruding. His body nothing more than a skeleton, his huge head swaying above bony shoulders. Still he tried to get up and greet us, gently wagging his tail.

Dr. Gundula Barnet examined Duke. Aside from the compound fracture of the leg, she discovered a large open wound near his rectum which turned out to be an area where infection from a fractured pelvis had been draining. Dukes muzzle was raw from abrasion. He was injected with pain medication, his leg was splinted and he spent the night on many layers of quilts, warm, safe and cared for.

In the following days Duke's X-rays were evaluated by one of Austin's finest orthopedic surgeons who diagnosed the fractures to be at least 2-3 weeks old. Duke had been determined to live! He had evidently propelled himself forward by using his muzzle to stabilize himself, unable to bear weight on his leg or his hips.

Dr. Barnet and the orthopedic surgeon were so taken by this dogs will to live that they decided to do whatever necessary to give him a chance at a n ew life.

Dr. Barnet has been caring for Duke every day. The fractured and infected pelvis was repaired and the splinted leg has been tended to and re-splinted every day. Now its time for the orthopedic surgeon to work his magic on the leg.

Duke is only 1-2 years old. Though he wore a collar with his name, there were no tags and a guardian has not been found. Dr. Barnet has been carrying the physical and financial burden of Dukes medical needs. A person who had expressed interest in adopting Duke and who wanted to help with the vet bills, is now a little overwhelmed with the cost and the responsibility. This leaves Dr. Barnet with a total vet bill of about $ 3000.00,including the discounted bill from the orthopedic surgeon.

Donations towards Dukes vet bills are urgently needed. Any amount will help. Dr. Barnet just opened her practice last spring and is in no position to fund the entire cost of Dukes surgeries and recovery. Dr. Barnett is very rescue friendly and among others has been caring for the animals at the Central Texas SPCA as well as my many foster dogs.